Osmotic Pressure Equation The osmotic pressure ( ) of a dilute solution can be calculated using the formula = iMRT where

re i is the van t Hoff factor (accounts for the number of individual particles of a compund dissolved in solution ex. NaCl in solution - 2 glucose in solution 1) M is the molarity of the solution R is the gas constant (0.08206 L atm mol -1 K -1 ) T is the temperature Note: 1. To calculate the net osmotic pressure across a semi-permeable membrane, (such as a cell membrane) you have to calculate the osmotic pressure on either side and see where the vector is larger. 2. Physicians as a general rule arent concerned about measuring osmotic pressure directly per se, but osmotic pressure is incredibly important in the function/regulation of all the body systems and is intimately related to other easily measured physiologic values such as blood pressure, electrolyte levels, oxygen diffusion to tissues, etc. Net Flux Equation In general, 'flux', when used in physiology, relates to movement of a substance between two compartments. Physiologists use the concept of flux to model the rate of diffusion of a solute across a semi-permeable membrane (such as a cell membrane). (Flux means subtley diffent things when refering to electromagnetism, chemistry, quantum mechanics, etc.) The net flux (J) for a solute from one compartment to another can be calculated by the following formula: J=AP(Co Ci) where A is the surface area of the membrane between the compartments P is the permeability coefficient (Co Ci) is the difference in concentration of a given solute between two chambers i and o in this case represent inside and outside of a cell Note: 1. The permeability coefficient is determined experimentally for a given solute at a given temperature. The more permeable a given chunk of membrane is to a given solute the higher the coefficient. 2. Generally speaking, for a given body cell, both the temperature and the surface area (ie. amount of cell membrane) will remain fairly constant. 3. The cell can affect the permeability coefficient primarily by inserting specific types of proteins into the cell membrane. For example, more monovalent cation channels would lead to an increase in sodium permeability. There can also be a pathological conditions where the membrane becomes too permeable or not permeable enough and you can start having cell dysfunction and death.

4. The difference in concentration for sodium, potassium, and calcium between the inside and outside of our cells is central to the electrical excitability and functio